1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a folding seat for automobiles. In particular, the present invention relates to an automobile seat whose seat back automatically rotates between an upright and a folded position under electrical power.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional rear seats for an automotive vehicle include a seat cushion and a seat back disposed adjacent the rear cargo area of the automobile. The seat back is pivotally coupled to the seat cushion to allow the seat back to be rotated from an upright position to a folded position, and thereby extend the effective volume of the rear cargo area. The seat back also includes a latch which secures the seat back in the upright position.
Although rear folding seats are widely used for facilitating rear passenger occupancy and for extending the effective cargo area of an automobile, the conventional automobile seat is difficult to operate. For instance, if the automobile owner has returned from a shopping trip carrying several packages for storage in the rear cargo area of the automobile, the owner must first drop the packages, and then open either the rear passenger doors or the rear cargo door of the automobile in order to manually release the seat latch. If the automobile is a sport coupe having only two doors, the automobile owner must slide the front passenger seats forward to gain assess to the rear folding seat, and then climb into the rear seat in order to release the rear seat latch. The automobile owner must then manually rotate the seat back into the folded position, and then return to the rear portion of the automobile in order to store the packages in the rear cargo area.
Therefore, there remains a need for an automobile seat which allows the effective rear cargo area of an automobile to be automatically accessible as needed.